worry

[ wur-ee, wuhr-ee ]

verb (used without object)

, wor·ried, wor·ry·ing.

1. to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.
2. to move with effort:

   an old car worrying uphill.

verb (used with object)

, wor·ried, wor·ry·ing.

1. to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.

   Synonyms: distress, badger, hector, harry, tease

2. to seize, especially by the throat, with the teeth and shake or mangle, as one animal does another.
3. to harass by repeated biting, snapping, etc.

noun

, plural wor·ries.

1. a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.

   Synonyms: fear, misgiving, disquiet, solicitude, apprehension

2. a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.
3. the act of worrying.
4. Fox Hunting. the action of the hounds in tearing to pieces the carcass of a fox.

verb phrase

1. Informal. to progress or succeed by constant effort, despite difficulty:

   to worry through an intolerable situation.

worry

/ ˈwʌrɪ /

verb

1. to be or cause to be anxious or uneasy, esp about something uncertain or potentially dangerous
2. tr to disturb the peace of mind of; bother

   don't worry me with trivialities

3. intr; often foll by along or through to proceed despite difficulties
4. introften foll byaway to struggle or work

   to worry away at a problem

5. tr (of a dog, wolf, etc) to lacerate or kill by biting, shaking, etc
6. whenintr, foll by at to bite, tear, or gnaw (at) with the teeth

   a dog worrying a bone

7. tr to move as specified, esp by repeated pushes

   they worried the log into the river

8. tr to touch or poke repeatedly and idly
9. obsolete.
   to choke or cause to choke
10. not to worry informal.
    you need not worry

noun

1. a state or feeling of anxiety
2. a person or thing that causes anxiety
3. an act of worrying
4. no worries informal.
   an expression used to express agreement or to convey that something is proceeding or has proceeded satisfactorily; no problem

Derived Forms

• ˈworryingly, adverb
• ˈworrying, adjective

Other Words From

• wor·ri·er noun
• wor·ri·less adjective
• wor·ry·ing·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of worry¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English weryen, werwen, wyrwyn “to strangle, bite, harass,” Old English wyrgan “to strangle”; cognate with German würgen

Word History and Origins

Origin of worry¹

Old English wyrgan; related to Old Frisian wergia to kill, Old High German wurgen (German ( er ) würgen to strangle), Old Norse virgill, urga rope

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. no worries, Informal. Also not to worry.
   1. Don’t be worried or troubled; everything will be fine:

      We'll help you move your stuff, no worries!

   2. (used as a conventional reply to thank you or thanks):

      Oh, no worries, it was fun having you come with us!

Synonym Study

Worry, annoy, harass all mean to disturb or interfere with someone's comfort or peace of mind. To worry is to cause anxiety, apprehension, or care: to worry one's parents. To annoy is to vex or irritate by continued repetition of interferences: to annoy the neighbors. Harass implies long-continued disturbance, torment, or persecution: to harrass a creditor.

Example Sentences

I have no worries about slinging it around camp or strapping it to the roof rack if space is tight in the car.

From Outside Online

It helps that EU lawmakers have already agreed to a giant stimulus spending package for the trading bloc, so that worry is off the table.

From Fortune

McMansions are back, in a big way, given the trend toward remote work — and thus the need for office space at home, and no worries about long commutes.

From Ozy

The worry for influencers is whether their audiences would follow them over to Triller if they switched.

From Digiday

Then I could cheerfully traipse from my backyard to a neighbor’s driveway and then on to a dark corner booth somewhere with no worries.

From FiveThirtyEight

Still, I worry that a simple traffic stop could have tragic consequences.

From The Daily Beast

And the authorities also worry that the December fires are just the beginning.

From The Daily Beast

But in the days ahead he, his brother, and the others will be back in the street while their families worry at home.

From The Daily Beast

I wish this was the last time I had to worry about hunger and bombs.

From The Daily Beast

This is a well-documented phenomenon which does not worry specialists.

From The Daily Beast

In sheer nervousness, Hilda also dropped to her knees on the hearthrug, and began to worry the fire with the poker.

From Project Gutenberg

His only worry at the time lay in the dark sky above and the blue-white stabs of lightning that promised an electrical storm.

From Project Gutenberg

No, there was nothing to worry about as long as that relentless hunter of criminals known as the Black Hood kept off their tail.

From Project Gutenberg

I should worry if Burd has a dozen maiden aunts,” observed Amy scornfully, “and they all knitted him red wristlets!

From Project Gutenberg

Matt began to appreciate the difficulties ahead of him and to worry a little about the outcome.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• annoy
• bother
• depress
• disturb
• fret
• irritate
• perturb
• plague
• trouble
• try
• unsettle
• upset

When To Use

What are other ways to say worry?

The noun worry means “a worried condition or feeling.” How does worry compare to synonyms care and concern? Learn more on Thesaurus.com.